Strange Noise? Fan Belt? Experience required

Hubbell

Hubbell

0
Hi Everyone

I picked up Gary and Jackie's Commer on Sunday they swapped it for my hard earned dough but Gary did give it one last spin around Gloucester, he did this to demonstrate the effectiveness of his machine (but really just to give it one more drive he he). Anyway as I set off Gary explained to me;

A: Don't push the old girl too hard, take it easy.
B: Phone me when you get home.

With that ominous advice I set off back to London all the way down the M4 and I cruised through central London. Anyway as I approached the Chelsea embankment I became stuck in traffic and by this point I had become accustomed to the agricultural nature of the engine and the gear shifts and I then started to listen to the note of the rootes engine. I have a keen mechanical ear (generally) basically the cab is incredibly noisy especially at speed but this is partly due to the lack of door trims. However beside the engine note there is another noise which is not related to the drive train (occurs in neutral) I reckon it starts at about 3k rpm (guess) basically in 4th gear it starts at about 25mph and it gets louder and louder and louder and LOUDER!! Then as you apply the brakes it slows down and then lets out a little whine?
So I sent Gary an email last night and he reckons its the fan belt and said there's not much you can do about it? Personally it sounds like a stiff pulley wheel to me? I have absolutely no understanding of the rootes engine but is there a belt which drives the water pump / alternator? I.e could one of those items be the noisy offender? ASBO required the noise is anti-social.
 
Yep just the standard fan belt set up, crankshaft pulley drives water pump and alternator with a single 'V' belt. It could be that it's slipping and needs adjusting (by moving the alternator on it's bracket) of may have worn/stretched to the point where it needs replacing.
Welcome to Commers:D

41fa30c8-22ce-43e8-bd12-188475a80292.jpg

Harvey & Bonnie
 
Well I like my Commer very much. It's currently parked outside my apartment in our "allocated" space (we live on a private estate - it's not posh though just inconvenient). It will be moved to one of my lock ups next weekend but I love looking at it in the morning when I step out of my front door it brings a smile to my face! It will be shame to hide it away in a garage..

I'm naming her Cécile. Reason being is that Gary left a crazy frog in the passenger seat so I decided the van must be french. The frog is staying. i don't want to have to evict a sitting tenant at this early stage, as evictions can prove expensive.

How ever the cab is very noisy even once the mysterious noise has been sorted out. Cécile still has the rubber catches which pull the lid down over the engine and under the cover there is some type of material? I'm wondering if there is any ways to effectively cancel out some of the noise in the cab so you can have a conversation with the passenger on the motorway without resorting to wearing a motorbike communication system? Maybe replacing the cloth like material under the lid with rubber matting of some kind? Changing the seal on the lid? Also there is no carpet fitted in the cab would that help to quieten thinks down a touch? Otherwise I can't see myself encouraging Mrs Hubbell to join me on a trip to the south of france next summer.... She's yet to experience the joys which Cécile has to offer...
 
How much play should there be in the belt? The van has done about 90k which isn't bad considering it's 41 years old. But I reckon it needs a healthy bit maintenance which won't be a problem. Where can you get cheap spares both new and used?
 
There should be about half an inch deflection either way on the longest part of the belt. You can get a fan belt locally

http://forum.commervanfan.co.uk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7992

As for other bits try Martin Maltas (on here) or Speedy Spares of Brighton.
They are a bit noisy:I but carpeting on the floor and wheel arches will dampen things down a bit and why not make a tray top for the engine lid which will also add noise insulation. The bestest way of all is to fit and overdrive gearbox - that drops the revs considerably [8D]

41fa30c8-22ce-43e8-bd12-188475a80292.jpg

Harvey & Bonnie
 
I think a considerably amount of noise was caused by the lack of door linings (bit like having the windows open) and the dodgy belt. When I get those sorted I'll give it another try. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction Panky. I must admit you are exceptionally helpful.
 
I think commerjules has some type of sound deadening mat so I've been told and I would say that the 6speed conversion supplied buy Commer racer is the best to drop the revs and increase power
6432161481_b867b12a93_m.jpg


ITS ALIVE AND ITS A MONSTER.
 
What Panky didn't tell you, Hubbell, is that he's removed the fan blades at the front (at least on his Autosleeper), and put an electric cooling fan it its place. Like all electrical fans, they don't start until you need them to run, mainly after a while stuck in stationary traffic or running at really low speeds. Unlike the old fashioned fan fitted to the crankshaft, working really well when you don't need it, and hardly cooling anything at all when you really do need it to cool down things...

Apart from carpets and stuff in the cab, I would guess that the underside of the engine lid could do with a bit of sound-deadening material - as long as there is room for the essentials under there..

But, as Panky says, the revs are the main reason for the cab being noisy. If you get the revs down by means of a different gearbox - or one with overdrive - that would improve things enormously.

And this is coming from me, reluctant to alter anything on our camper.. :D ! Personally, I just love the plain nature of that cab, with a rubber mat being the only creature comfort in sight. Poor sound insulation, all-metal door sides, simple painted engine lid, origial equipment both engine and transmission wise, and everything else-wise ;) The cab is very noisy (!!), but I have no plans to alter things.


And congratulations with your new purchase :p A very good choice, in my opinion !! :) Good luck with it.


1965 Commer (1592ccm) series IIa Bluebird Highwayman
a5b8fa7d-adbb-4a07-89d1-b7311f6bd403_zps2bfbe7f7.jpg
 
Yep, fireproof sound deadening under the lid and on the sides under the engine. Did it on mine and a huge difference, can almost have a conversation now...almost :)

Hasta la supervista baby
 
Get to scrappers and grab an underbonnet sound deadening panel. cut to size and stick in place. Job done.

I sorted my garage into 4 piles of stuff.
1. Stuff I`m keeping
2. Stuff I`m not getting rid of.
3. Stuff I might use..one day.
4. Stuff that might come in handy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top